March 10, 2003
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
Georgia Tech, the nation’s top-ranked team according to Baseball America, puts its 14-game winning streak on the line when the Yellow Jackets visit 10th-ranked Auburn on Tuesday at 7 p.m. (EST). Live radio coverage will be available on WREK-Radio (91.1 FM in Atlanta) and on the internet at www.ramblinwreck.com. Live statistics for the game will be available on the internet at www.auburntigers.com.
GEORGIA TECH UPDATE (14-0, 0-0 ACC)
Georgia Tech is off to a 14-0 start, winning six straight games away from home before winning its last eight games at Russ Chandler Stadium. Tech’s 14-0 start is the second best mark to open a season. The Yellow Jackets set a school record with a 16-0 start in 1987.
Tech’s early success is largely due to the outstanding performances of its pitching staff. The unit has posted a 2.55 ERA in 14 games, and is holding its opponents to a .220 batting average. LHP Kyle Bakker (4-0, 3.13) is the ace of the Tech staff, while the bullpen has combined for a 2.17 ERA in 54 innings, holding opposing hitters to a .209 batting average. Tech pitchers have walked just 38 batters in 127 innings of work (2.69 walks per nine innings).
Senior RHP Chris Goodman (1-0, 3.60) has opened the season as Tech’s No. 2 starter while freshman RHP Jason Neighborgall (2-0, 1.93) made his second straight start as Tech’s No. 3 starter last Sunday against Rutgers.
Offensively, the Yellow Jackets are hitting .282 as a team through the first three weeks of the season but they are averaging 7.9 runs per game due to some timely hitting and 25 home runs in 14 games (averaging 1.79 per game after hitting 0.97 home runs per game in 2002). The team has been led by 1B Clifton Remole (.439-0-7), SS Tyler Greene (.340-4-14) and C Mike Nickeas (.312-3-16).
AUBURN UPDATE (16-3, 0-0 SEC)
Winners of nine straight games, Auburn is 16-3 in 2003 including a 12-3 mark at Plainsman Park. The Tigers are coming off a three-game sweep at North Carolina last weekend and they have posted an 8-1 record against ACC members Virginia (3-0), Clemson (2-1) and North Carolina (3-0). The Tigers are batting .340 as a team and own a team ERA of 4.00. Sophomore LHP Arnold Hughey (3-0, 3.20) is expected to get the start on Tuesday evening.
QUOTING DANNY HALL ON THE SERIES WITH AUBURN:
“They have had a great program for years, they have great players and they are off to a great start this year. They have great fan support and I know that there will be a lot of people there to watch the game. I think that it will be a great challenge for our team to go on the road and try to do well over there.”
ON TECH’S 14-0 START IN 2003:
“The interesting thing is that we have found different ways to win. When we have had to really pitch good we have been able to do that. And when our pitching hasn’t been as good as we would have liked, we have found ways to win games offensively. We have to keep working at all areas, but the encouraging thing is that we have found different ways to win. To have a good season you have to have that type effort. The interesting thing is that is has been a number of different guys stepping up to help us win games.”
ON TECH’S IMPROVEMENT OFFENSIVELY AFTER A SLOW START:
“We have worked very hard to get some of those guys going. Eric Patterson looks like he is back and Matt Murton has swung it well. We have seen flashes from Brandon Boggs and Jeremy Slayden. I feel like we are going to be a good offensive club, and I thought over the weekend against Rutgers we were better at it.”
ON THE SERIES WITH KENT STATE THIS WEEKEND IN ATLANTA:
“They have been a very consistent program and they have been in the NCAA Tournament with regularity the last couple of years. They have some outstanding pitchers and some outstanding veteran pitchers. It is not easy to go to Blacksburg and win a series at Virginia Tech like they did last weekend, and that really caught my eye. I know that they are an outstanding club and we will need to be ready to play.”
STARTING PITCHER NOTES:
Tuesday: MICAH OWINGS (RHP) 3-0, 1.80 ERA
Freshman Micah Owings will make his second career start on Tuesday night at Auburn in what will be his fourth appearance of the season. Owings holds the unique distinction of earning a win in each of his three previous appearances, including one start and two relief stints.
Owings earned a win in his first career start last Tuesday against Campbell after holding the Camels to two runs on four hits in six innings. He struck out three batters and did not issue a walk.
The 6-5 righthander made his first appearance in Tech’s second game of the season, working 3.1 scoreless and hitless innings against Georgia Southern. The only baserunner he allowed came via a hit batsman on an 0-2 pitch.
Owings earned a win in relief against Michigan in his second appearance, recording two outs in the top of the ninth inning in a tie game before Tech rallied for a 7-6 win in the bottom of the ninth.
As a senior at Gainesville High School, Owings went 12-1 with a 1.03 ERA while recoding 121 strikeouts and just three walks in 75 innings.
Owings also serves as Tech’s regular DH and backup first baseman.
GEORGIA TECH VS. AUBURN
AUBURN LEADS, 112-101-5
Auburn leads Georgia Tech, 112-101-5, in a series that dates to 1897. The 218-game series stands as the second longest in school history behind only Tech’s series with Georgia (322 games). The Tigers hold a 60-37-2 edge in the series in games played in Auburn. Tech leads 60-45-2 in games played in Atlanta.
The two schools played every year that they fielded teams from 1905 through 1967 with the exception of the war years (1943-46), and then resumed the series on a regular basis from 1974 through 1989. The Tigers and Yellow Jackets played just two times in the 1990’s before resuming the series as a two-game home-and-home affair for the 2001 season. Tech is 3-1 against the Tigers since the most recent resumption of the series, including a sweep of both games last year.
Last season, Tech took a 9-5 win at Auburn behind a 3-for-5, 3 RBI effort from shortstop Victor Menocal and a strong pitching performance from Jeff Watchko (6 IP, 2 ER). The Yellow Jackets scored seven runs in the sixth inning to break the game open. The Yellow Jackets won 10-4 in Atlanta where Jeremy Slayden went 3-for-5 with three RBI and Chris Goodman held the Tigers to two runs in seven innings.
Georgia Tech is 3-2 against Auburn under head coach Danny Hall.
PITCHING SHINES IN EARLY GAMES, HITTING SHOWS IMPROVEMENT
Georgia Tech’s 14-0 start to the 2003 season is due largely to the success of the Yellow Jacket pitching staff. The unit, which has seen 12 different players take the mound thus far, has combined for a 2.55 ERA in 127 innings. Tech pitchers are holding opponents to a .220 batting average. More impressively, the staff has walked just 38 batters in 14 games, holding opponents to a .293 on base percentage. The Tech bullpen has been especially effective through the first three weeks of the season, posting a 2.17 ERA in 54 innings.
However as impressive as the pitching staff has been, the Tech offense sputtered to start the 2003 season. The Yellow Jackets hit just .263 as a team through the first 11 games of the season before breaking out for 38 hits in three games against Rutgers over the weekend to raise the team average to .282.
Tech’s current .282 average is still a relatively low number considering the Yellow Jackets hit .330 in 2002, .347 in 2001 and .342 in 2000. In fact, Tech has never hit lower than .306 as a team since Danny Hall became the school’s head coach in 1994, and the Yellow Jackets have hit better than .320 as a team in seven of his nine years at the helm of the program.
EXTRA-INNING WIN STREAK DATES TO 1997
With Georgia Tech’s 6-5, 10-inning win over Rutgers on Mar. 8, the Yellow Jackets have now won 11 consecutive extra inning games dating back to the 1997 season. Tech’s last loss in extra innings was a 10-9 loss to Florida State on April 18, 1997.
SECOND BEST START IN SCHOOL HISTORY
Georgia Tech’s 14-0 record to open 2003 stands as the second best mark to open a season in school history. The Yellow Jackets set a school record with a 16-game winning streak to open the 1987 season. Listed below are Tech’s best records to open a season:
Best Starts to Open a SeasonYear Start Final Record1987 16-0 51-142003 14-0 ???1985 11-0 42-19-11946 10-0 10-2
LONGEST WINNING STREAKS
Georgia Tech’s current 14-game winning streak is tied for the fifth longest streak in school history, and it is the 25th winning streak in school history of 10 or more games. Listed below are Georgia Tech’s all-time longest winning streaks:
LONGEST GEORGIA TECH WINNING STREAKSYear Streak Final Record1990 20 games 46-251992 18 games 45-191987 16 games 51-142000 15 games 50-162003 14 games ???1999 14 games 38-202002 13 games 52-161997 13 games 46-151995 13 games 38-221983 12 games 38-151973 12 games 20-6-21971 12 games 31-61906 12 games 23-3
HALL TOPS 400 WINS AT TECH
Head coach Danny Hall won his 400th game at Georgia Tech on Feb. 21 against Rider. The Tech skipper, now in his 10th year at Georgia Tech, becomes the second coach in school history to reach the 400-victory plateau. Jim Morris won 504 games from 1982-93 to rank as the winningest coach in school history. Hall’s winning percentage of .704 (410-172) is currently the best in school history behind Morris’ mark of .674 (504-244-1).
In 17 years as a head coach at Kent State and Georgia Tech, Hall’s career record currently stands at 618-289 (.681).
